At the first sight of the prairie, almost every person will immediately have the words "endless" in their minds, because in front of them is a verdant prairie - the vigorous weeds, in the middle of summer they are green, half-human deep weeds, at this time they have become green waves that rise and fall with the wind, making people have the illusion and hope of "the wind blows the grass and sees the cattle and sheep", the undulating green waves, and even has the illusion of wanting people to swim in it. Pen | fun | pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

Suddenly, this green color was replaced by a scorched black, and the endless scorched black was burned to leave traces - hundreds of thousands of acres of grassland were burned to ashes, and even this was a deliberate fire, in fact, in the future, the so-called "official waste" and "flag land" around Fengtian City were measured after the establishment of the Northeast Governor's Office, and even the first order signed after the establishment of the Northeast Governor's Office was to set up a land survey bureau and begin to use Western-style surveying methods to measure the land in the northeast region, and find out the "official waste" and "flag land" When officials have land, they are the most important.

According to the measurement policy, all the "official waste" and "flag land" were treated as official land and returned to the government, and all official land was handed over to the "Public Land Management Bureau of the Three Eastern Provinces" for management and use, and the way of use was very simple -- reclamation, but unlike in the past, when the people in the Guannai were recruited for reclamation, the Land Management Bureau, which was responsible for the reclamation of wasteland, did not recruit immigrants in the Guannai. Rather, it is a different way of reclamation - the recruitment of agricultural workers to reclaim the wasteland, so as to convert the public land into agricultural land, but the land is owned by the government.

Two months ago, almost on the day when the imperial court ordered the establishment of a province in the northeast and the establishment of the "governor of the three eastern provinces". The Bureau of Land Management was established. He also began to preside over the reclamation of the three eastern provinces. At the same time that the Bureau of Land Management began to plan the reclamation of the three provinces, the recruitment offices set up in Zhili, Shandong, Anhui, Jiangsu and other places began to recruit workers on a large scale, but in just two months, agricultural workers appeared for the first time in Fengtian, Jilin and Heilongjiang.

Unlike ordinary workers, agricultural workers are organized into regiments according to the establishment of the army and are managed in a unified manner. It is like an army that implements militarized management, wears uniform clothes, and uses uniform tools to reclaim the wasteland into farmland and plant crops in the wasteland of the three northeastern provinces. The first step in reclamation is to set fire to the weeds on the ground.

Different from the past, in the reclamation area of the Third Reclamation Regiment between Fengtian and Liaoyang, next to a lonely birch tree, a group of agricultural workers in khaki uniforms were curiously looking at the huge machine in the field. The machine resembles a steam locomotive, but it has no rails under the nose and a pair of steel wheels on the front and rear. At the back of the car, a farmer is stuffing lumber into the boiler, and an American technician is standing in the back of the car, seemingly checking the table. And the rear of the car is towing a plough.

This domineering-looking machine is the American-made "Fowler" steam tractor, at this time this tractor is standing proudly on this wasteland, standing in the driver's seat playing with the American technician of the levers, sometimes looking triumphantly at the surrounding Chinese, their faces are full of pride, while several Chinese students, according to their orders for the tractor to make final preparations for the start of the tractor.

Tractor!

This is an extremely novel machine for the Chinese, and in fact, for many agricultural workers, they have never seen any machine in the past, let alone this kind of machine, except for the steamer they took when they came to Northeast China. But now the tractor is regarded by the Authority as a "reclamation machine that can be tried" and will be promoted and used in reclamation.

Today this is the first time that the Authority has used tractors, according to the Authority's plan in the future, each agricultural reclamation regiment will be equipped with two to three tractors, of course, the premise of realizing this plan is that the tractors must be localized, and the premise of localization is that the imported ten steam tractors must prove their value.

The simple dirt road was crowded with farmers who had heard the news, and they looked at the smoke-spewing tractor with different expressions, so that they did not even bring their own weapons, "shovels or pickaxes".

"Sir, I heard that this tractor does a day's work, which is equal to two hundred people?"

Although the reclamation workers were only workers, their daily lives were militarized, and the newly recruited workers were required to undergo fifteen days of military training before they were assigned, and they were called the same as the troops in the reclamation regiment.

"Two hundred? It's a piece of cake, a steam tractor, as long as the firewood can keep up, it can plow all day long, and this day can do the work of a battalion, you see this plow...... One trip down can be ploughed twice with a horse......"

When the commander of Tser showed off to his brothers what he had just heard, the sleeve of his left arm was empty, and the Reclamation Corps was also a place to house retired disabled soldiers, although the salaries of the Reclamation Soldiers were far less than those of the army, but for these disabled soldiers, there was no more suitable place than here, the salary was less, but it was not like the disabled soldiers of the Chinese dynasties and dynasties on the streets, and even here, they could still maintain the dignity of the soldiers and get the respect of the Reclamation Workers.

"My goodness, if we all change this machine, then what will we have?"

"Not really! If they all use this machine to plow the land, the brothers' work will be over, and they will have three dollars a month! ”

Although they were not soldiers, they were still accustomed to referring to their salaries as "salaries" for these farm workers, perhaps because they lived more like soldiers than civilians.

"It's not just money, you can still eat meat every day, and in Henan's hometown, even the landlord and the old rich family don't eat meat every day like our brothers......"

In the sorrow of the peasants, the steam tractor suddenly sounded the whistle, the piercing whistle only made everyone's hearts tremble, and then they saw the foreign technician on the tractor leaning out of it, shouting a few foreign words to the back, and then the tractor suddenly moved, the nearly high steel wheel turned, towards the wasteland, when the tail approached the roadside, the tractor stopped again, and the man at the back of the car slowly put down the plough.

Under the gaze of everyone, the tractor sounded its whistle again, and the tractor continued to move forward. Everyone was gathered around the ground, looking at the tractor moving slowly in amazement. When the tractor starts again. He cried out with ill will

"Look. This iron bull is not a cow, and if it is not even, it will quickly lie down in the nest for one step, two steps, and three steps. No more smoking, just lie down and ......"

"I don't think it's an iron ox, you look at the fire-breathing appearance, well, the fire plow, it looks like a fire plow!"

But in the shouting of the peasants. The tractor pulled the heavy wheel plough and still slowly moving forward, its speed is not fast, but it is much faster than the horse-drawn wheel plow, not to mention the ox plough can compare, the wasteland is turned up by the ploughshare into revealing even the oil black soil, the grass roots that used to be extremely difficult to clean up are easily uprooted, seeing the tractor moving forward like a child's play, everyone is looking at it in amazement.

"Good, good...... With the fire plough thing, the ......"

"Then you still need people!"

"People have to want it, for sure, definitely don't want cows. Don't have a horse either......"

"Yes, yes, there is. There are a few such ploughs that become ......"

To the astonishment of the people, the steam tractor spewing smoke drove steadily on the wasteland, and behind it turned over a deep dirt road two wide wides, and in an instant it ploughed a piece of land on the black earth.

It took a while for the dumbfounded farmers to come to their senses and muttered as they watched the tractors ploughing the land.

"This thing...... Terrible...... This, at this speed, this thing can open at least ten small yards a day, then, then we still need it? ”

If there was only some fear, now these farmers are really worried that their jobs will be replaced by this spew-spewing plow, which will lead to their unemployment.

"But if all this machine is used to plow the land, and in the future, this kind of land will be planted, cut, pulled, and beaten by all machines, then the brothers' days will be over......"

The expressions of the surrounding farmers became more and more complicated, and they cherished the working machine in front of them, for many of them, it even carried their hopes for life, and at this time, the rumbling and spewing smoke machine was disintegrating their dreams little by little.

"I see you're also worried......

At this moment, the words of a company commander came from the side, the company commander with the broken arm walked leisurely, the empty sleeve swayed with his walking, although he was missing an arm, but his spine was very straight, when he stood there facing the light, wearing three medals on his chest reflected a strange brilliance, which was the source of his self-confidence - a medal of the Northeast Campaign, indicating that he had participated in the Northeast Campaign, as for the other Medal of Loyalty and Valor, the merits he had received on the battlefield, the last Medal of Loyalty, It is to thank him for his loyal service in the army.

The medal on the company commander's chest always attracts the attention of the peasant workers, who have seen the "might" of the medal - when the county civil magistrate sees the company commander wearing the medal, he is the first to bow, and the company commander only nods slightly and salutes triumphantly, which is not something they can understand, but it is what they desire. The envy generated by this desire made him naturally never have any doubts about the words of this company commander who had "made great contributions" on the battlefield.

"The northeast is so big, tens of thousands of acres of land are waiting for us to open, but what happens if we have machines? The place is so big, so many, there is no more than ten or twenty years of effort, how can it be finished, look at your salty radish and worry about it, instead of worrying about this, it is better to think about it, how can you open so much! ”

What to do with this land?

When these peasant workers with the name of "reserve" in the military command department of the Northeast Governor's Office raised this question in their hearts, in some newly cultivated land, some ordinary people in shabby clothes looked at the land with blank eyes, their eyes were a little complicated, but their expressions were a little excited.

Zhao Laosi in the crowd walked out, he walked to the side of the road and bent down to grab a handful of soil from the ground, the soil is black oil and high-grade fertile soil, even a lazy person can grow hundreds of catties of food, if you are diligent, you can beat 200 catties.

"Great, my lord, this, this place is really mine?"

Zhao Laosi looked at the empty land in front of him, he couldn't believe what he saw, in front of him was a newly opened land with thousands of acres, and a handful of the land could be pinched out of oil, even until he spoke. He still holds a handful of oily black soil.

For Zhao Laosi, who abandoned his wife and children twelve years ago and came to Kanto. In the past 12 years, his biggest dream is to have his own piece of land. Then he brought his wife and children to Kanto, but he had been a tenant for 12 years, although he was frugal and frugal, but he only saved more than 30 taels of silver, such a little silver, if he wanted to bring his wife and children to Kanto, in addition to inheriting wasteland and reclaiming land, he also bought livestock, farm tools, and built houses. Silver is certainly not enough. So until now, he is still alone in Kanto as a tenant farmer.

And this time the government recruited the land, looking at the preferential conditions, he signed up without any concern, after all, the conditions listed in the notice were too tempting.

A burst of laughter came from Li Cunxin's voice, only to hear the new director of the Liaozhong Civil Affairs Department say with a smile.

"You planted this land, and the government leased it to you!"

Once again, Li Cunxin emphasized the principle of this lease - the land is still publicly owned, and his emphasis only made Zhao Laosi, who was originally a little excited, feel a chill in his heart. Noticing the changes in the faces of Zhao Laosi and more than a dozen other tenant farmers, Li Cunxin went on to explain,

"Because this land is the property of the government. Therefore, in the future, the land rent will be handed over to the government, and the amount of land rent collected by the government shall not exceed three-and-a-half of the total annual harvest of the main crops. As for the main crop, the main crop is based on one season of staple food, for example, if you plant a season of millet with a yield of 100 catties per mu, as long as you pay 35 catties of land rent, the rest is completely your own ......"

"Then, how much grain will be harvested on this acre of land, and how will it be calculated at that time? Also, what about this year? ”

After a 30-year-old tenant farmer asked, he retreated timidly into the crowd, the fixed rent is not very new to them, it seems fair, but in fact they have not suffered such a loss, the quota of one acre of land is more than doubled, the rent looks low, but in fact it will never be much lower.

"When the grain is harvested next year, the government will send people, your batch is a total of 18 households, when the time comes, each family will take out four acres of land and collect the cash, calculate the total output of these 64 acres, and then remove the yield per mu, and then take this mu yield as the subject in the next three years, the yield accounting, once every three years, if the crop fails due to disasters or other force majeure, the lessee may request the tenant committee to investigate the number of failed harvests, and agree on rent reduction methods; When the harvest of cultivated land is less than 30% due to disasters, it should be exempted from rent. ”

Looking at the people who were talking to each other, Li Cunxin raised his voice again.

"This rent of thirty percent and five is the reward of the governor, everyone is a tenant farmer, and the land rent inside and outside the customs is not less than fifty percent, if it touches the black heart, this season's staple grain is almost planted for him, and only one season of beans will be planted, and the land of the government can be planted, and only three or five of the staple grain of one season will be collected, and the rest will not be rented!"

Although this has already been explained, but now listening to the explanation of the adults, Zhao Laosi and the others all nodded again and again and said yes, the rent of three out of five is indeed not high, if it is calculated so carefully, it can be said that it is pitiful.

"As for this tax, it is natural to pay taxes and pay grain, this year, next year, the new land is exempt, and when the tax is levied in the following year, it is 2.5% of the land price, and the local tax equivalent to 1/5 of the land tax is attached, and the two total land prices are 3%, as for the land price of one mu, although it is 15 yuan, it seems to be two or three yuan higher than the market price, but ten years later, everyone can buy the land back with the land price of 15 yuan. Three taels of silver, less than five dollars, what about now? Even if the cooked land is inferior, it will not be able to buy it back without ten yuan! Even if it's a business, it costs a tael of silver! Everyone says that the land price of 15 yuan per mu is not high after ten years? ”

Li Cunxin's words seemed to be reasonable, and he nodded when he listened. In order to obtain the funds needed to "enrich the country and strengthen the army", the government first collects a part of the land benefits through land rent, and then collects seemingly very slight "taxes" through the "natural" land endowment.

But in fact, this seemingly minor tax is a heavy burden on the people. In the Liaohe area, the yield of wheat per mu is only about five quintals, and the price of wheat per quintal is about 2.5 yuan, so the land output is 3.75 yuan. The land tax is 0.375 yuan, and the local surcharge tax is 0.075 yuan, totaling 0.45 yuan, which is 3% of the land price. The land price is equivalent to 12% of the land output, and the tenant farmers need to pay the government 35% of the land output, which is 47% in total, and their own income is only 53%, which also includes seeds, fertilizers, etc., which account for about 15% of the production cost of the land, and the net income accounts for only 38% of the land output.

Actually, for the Doge's Palace. All that is needed is a decree prohibiting private farming. and the reclamation of hundreds of thousands of agricultural workers. The more land was reclaimed in the three eastern provinces, and the more tenants there were, the more lucrative the Governor's Mansion became.

As for the so-called 10-year price fixing, which is also to further capture the surplus value of agriculture, and after 10 years the land is sold to tenant farmers at a fixed price, the government seems to have suffered a loss, but in fact it has received a considerable amount of money. In addition, the government will be able to levy higher land taxes after the land price is redetermined with reference to the market price. It can still ensure a stable source of tax revenue.

For all this, ordinary people like Zhao Laosi naturally had no way of knowing, but they were grateful to the government for what they said, and when Zhao Laosi and others began to thank the governor for his kindness, Li Cunxin continued to give them favors.

"As for the pickaxes, rakes, plows and other farm tools, you don't have to worry about it, the agricultural support cooperatives provide them at the lowest price, if you don't have money, you can buy them by borrowing, with an annual interest rate of one cent, and no interest rate hike. When the time comes, the settlement of this money can be repaid with grain......"

One word at a time. It is completely for the sake of the people, low-interest loans for farm tools. It is natural to promote the development of agriculture, but of course, more importantly, these agricultural tools are industrially produced on a large scale by designated manufacturers, and the cost and price are naturally much lower than those of old agricultural tools. Even the cattle supplied to the tenant farmers were purchased from the steppe through large quantities of trading through agricultural and livestock companies, and the prices were naturally slightly lower than those in the market. But all this is a real benefit for people like Zhao Laosi.

"A sickle costs only seven cents of silver, and it's more than half cheaper......"

In his heart, he calculated the price of those farm tools, not to mention that it was not important, under this calculation, Zhao Laosi found that the price of what the adult said, the price was three or four percent cheaper, just to buy those farming belongings, you can save more than a dozen taels of silver, and even the price of the horse is only twenty yuan, which is ten yuan cheaper.

"Great, my lord, if the government is really like this, if it is really written in black and white, I will plant this land, plant this land......"

As soon as Zhao Laosi's words fell, there was a sound of harmony around, the land of the government is indeed cost-effective, and no people are willing to deal with the government since ancient times, but for Zhao Laosi and others, there seems to be no better choice than this, after all, the land is no longer reclaimed, and renting official land has become their only choice.

"Planting this land doesn't mean planting it!"

Li Cunxin, who was smiling, looked at the people who seemed to be a little puzzled and said.

"This land is not rented to you alone, but to your family, if you don't take your mother-in-law and children to live here next year, then the land will still have to be taken back, and when the time comes, don't blame you for not even paying you the seed money! You don't want to live a good life with your wife and children, so the government will take back the opportunity you have to give! ”

The adult's words were only exchanged for a burst of laughter, and they all spoke.

"Then what can I say, my lord, if the government is really like this, I will go home and bring back my mother-in-law and children......"

"It's not, didn't you break into this Kanto region just to let the family eat!"

"Rest assured, since the government dares to sign this lease with you in black and white, it will never violate this lease, and everyone just needs to take their families over! If you need help with anything, you can go to the Civil Affairs Department to ask for help from the department, and the officials in the department will never shirk half a point! ”

In the laughter of everyone, Li Cunxin was quite emotional and saluted everyone with fists.

"Big guy, you know, our Northeast Civil Affairs Department is different from the Guannei Yamen, this Civil Affairs Department is for the people, the place to make a living, if you folks settle in my Liaozhong, since I Liaozhong Civil Affairs Department up and down the food and clothing, the Civil Affairs Department, naturally want to serve you, never dare to have a trace of slackness......"

At this time, the sunset fell on the faces of Zhao Laosi and other tenant farmers, but the dark face was full of smiles, and the expression of the hemp eyes was full of expectations for the future......

(Although there is only one more, it is a big chapter of 6,000 words, hehe, it's not a bounce!) Weakly ask for a fixed reading and monthly pass, whether you are looking at the genuine version or not! The Empire's Sunrise Reader Exchange Group: 150536833 welcome you to join) (To be continued.) )